# Indirectly Inciting “Followers to Flood” Business “with False Reviews, Calls, and Emails” May Be Tortious

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/indirectly-inciting-followers-to-flood-business-with-false-reviews-calls-and-emails-may-be-tortious/
- Published: 2026-11-11T13:32:08+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T14:37:04+00:00
- Original publisher: Reason (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/11/11/indirectly-inciting-followers-to-flood-business-with-false-reviews-calls-and-emails-may-be-tortious/
- Topics: Politics, Trending, Weird & Viral

## Key points

- Florida interference claim can proceed to a jury.
- Practice reported $1.03 million in lost procedures.
- Court said Section 230 did not shield alleged encouragement.

## Summary

A Florida court has allowed a plastic surgery practice’s claim of tortious interference to proceed against a social media user who exposed a woman’s identity and employer after a viral parking-lot dispute. The ruling means a jury may decide whether his posts encouraged followers to target the business and disrupt its relationships with patients and staff.

The practice said it received calls, emails and fictitious online reviews, after which patients cancelled procedures and a physician left. It reported losing about $900,000 in non-surgical procedures and $130,000 in surgical procedures, and spending money on security. The judge said the user’s intent remained for a jury to assess and rejected his argument that Section 230 shielded him from liability for allegedly encouraging others’ conduct.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.